Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jiangxi Health Vocational College, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330052, China.

2 School of Laboratory Medicine, Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330052, China.

3 Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamics and Safety Evaluation, Health Commission of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330052, China.

4 Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China.

5 Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamics and Quality Evaluation on Anti-Inflammatory Chinese Herbs, Jiangxi Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330052, China.

Abstract

Background: Natural killer (NK) cells play a role in the pathogenesis of various metabolic diseases related to obesity. While our initial findings have indicated a potential involvement of NK cells in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, the precise mechanism underlying NK cell-mediated development of this form of diabetes remains inadequately comprehended.
Objective: To investigate the impact and the underlying mechanism of high glucose and elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) on immune and inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in NK92 cells.
Methods: In this experiment, the CCK8 cytotoxicity assay was used to select the 44.4 mM and 1.5 mM concentrations of high glucose and high FFAs, respectively, to treat NK92 cells for 4 days. The concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) were determined using a biochemical analyzer. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, cytokines concentrations (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10), and the expression levels of intracellular molecules (perforin and granzyme B) were assessed by flow cytometry.
Results: The number of NK92 cell clumps was significantly reduced in the high-FFA (HF) group. In addition, the production of ROS and levels of cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10) significantly decreased in the HF group but showed no significant change in the high-glucose (HG) group. This observation was consistent with the expression levels of perforin and granzyme B that decreased in the HF group.
Conclusion: High FFAs induced morphological changes and serious damage to oxidative stress and inflammatory response in NK92 cells.

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